Constantinople




Constantinople Massacre August 26-27, 1896: Australian Church Reaction by Stavros T. Stavridis and Vahe G. Kateb This short article outlines the seizure of the Imperial Ottoman Bank by the Armenian Dashnaktsutiun (or Dashnaks) in August 1896 to draw the attention of the Great European powers of the failure of Sultan Abdul II to implement administrative reforms in the Eastern Vilayets of the Ottoman Empire. The slaughter of Armenians that followed in Constantinople was discussed by the Presbyterian Church in Colonial Victoria (Australia). As it will be seen, the actions of the Dashnaks and massacre that followed in Constantinople certainly drew the attention and ire of the Church. Read more.
Istanbul's Greek Chic By Alex Penman, Athens News It is a first in the history of the Turkish Republic. For three days in June and July, Constantinopolitan Greeks gathered from around the world to talk about the city's dwindling community. And the news was encouraging. Read more.
May 29, 1453: The Fall of Constantinople by Dionysios Hatzopoulos When, at the age of twenty-one, Mehmed II (1451-1481) sat on the throne of the Ottoman Sultans his first thoughts turned to Constantinople. The capital was all that was left from the mighty Christian Roman Empire and its presence. To give the final blow to the half-dead body of the Byzantine Empire, he had to move fast. He was so much preoccupied by his project of conquest that, according to the contemporary Greek historian Michael Dukas, his mind was occupied by it day and night. Read entire article.
Petros Tatanis: Concern for the "Patrida" by Stavros T. Stavrides Petros P. Tatanis, the publisher of the Greek American newspaper National Herald (Ethnikos Kyrix), sent an interesting telegram to US President Warren Harding on October 7, 1922 regarding the plight of the Christian population in Eastern Thrace. This telegram is best understood within the context of the Mudania conference taking place in early October 1922 between Allied Generals and Kemalists establishing armistice terms between the Greek and Turkish armies. The Mudania convention eventually paved the way for the Lausanne peace conference held in late November 1922 – February 1923 and resuming again in April – July 1923 Click here for entire article.
Andreades' "Mission" to America: Political Questions 1919--Part One by Stavros T. Stavrides A correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor interviewed Professor A.Andreades in early May 1919 in New York. The interview was published in four instalments on May 2, 3, 6 and 7, respectively. The first two articles dealing with Greek diplomacy and the others discussing financial and economic matters. The information provided by Andreades is placed within the context of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Click here to read full article.
Book Release for The Mechanism of Catastrophe: The Turkish Pogrom of September 6-7, 1955, and the Destruction of the Greek Community of Istanbul by Dr. Speros Vryonis On the night of September 6-7, 1955, the Greek community of Istanbul was violently struck thoughhout the expanse of Turkey's most important metropolis. Within a matter of hours, businesses, homes, and even the churches of the Greeks were in ruins, with the British press calculating the damage at 100 million Britsh pounds. It was the beginning of the end for the ethnic descendants of the city's founders, who had first settled this eastern tip of Europe over two and a half millennia earlier. Click here to read more about this monumental and critically important work.
Do Any Life Insurance Companies Owe Greeks or Greek-Americans Death Benefits? Are there U.S. or European insurance companies that owe monies to relatives of those whom the Turks killed during the 1922 Smyrna and Asia Minor holocaust? This year, Martin Marootian was among 12 plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit to reach a tentative $20 million settlement with New York Life. Marootian, 88, had hoped that the agreement, thought to be the first in connection with the often disputed massacre and open to claims from survivors worldwide, would bring more recognition to a catastrophe that hasn't been acknowledged by the federal government of the United States. Click here to read entire release.
Proclamation on Genocides Issued by New York Governor George Pataki Gov. Pataki issued a formal proclamation on Sunday, October 6, 2002 in commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and presented it to the Holocaust Memorial Observance Committee of Asia Minor. Click here to read the full text of the proclamation.
American Hellenic Institute (AHI) Hosts Noon Forum on the 50th Commemoration of Turkey's Pogrom of September 1955 and the Destruction of the Greek Community of Istanbul AHI President Gene Rossides details the origin of the Cyprus invasion and occupation by Turkey within the wider sphere of international politics involving Britain. Through instigation by the U.K., Turkey reversed her decision not to become involved in the Cypriot independence movement and incited and staged widespread destructive riots in Istanbul during 1955. The result was the near decimation of a once significant Christian minority, causing millions of dollars of irreparable damage to homes, businesses, and churches. Click here to read the full text of this speech by AHI founder, president, and former Assistant to the U.S. Treasurer, attorney Gene Rossides.
Nicephorus Bryennius and Anna Comnena: The "Roman" Xenophon and Thucydides of Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Constantinople By John C. Rouman, Ph.D. In a speech delivered at The Greek Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, Prof. Emeritus Rouman described the general rise of the Byzantine, or New Roman Empire, setting the scene for the ascension to power of Alexios I Comnenos. He reviewed some of the highlights of the reign of Alexios I, citing the works of historians contemporary with the astute ruler: the Caesar Nicephorus Bryennius, Alexius' son-in-law, and Anna Comnena, the daughter of Alexius and the widow of Bryennius. Click here to read more.
The Atmeidan or Hippodrome in Constantinople By Jason C. Mavrovitis Author Mavrovitis offers an overview of the history of the atmeidan or hippodrome of Constantinople from its inception in classical times through its renovation in the early Byzantine era and its status up through the Fall of the city. His use of antique steel engravings and vintage postcards and ephemera enhances the article and provides an interesting visual frame of reference for viewers. Click here to read entire article.
Istanbul Greeks Seek Justice in Land Claims By George Gilson of the Athens News Turkey is trying to bring its laws on minorities in tune with those of the EU, but ethnic Greeks living in the capital say they are victimized through unfair land expropriations. Vartholomaios, ecumenical patriarch and archbishop of Constantinople, is wont to call the 2,000-strong Greek community of Istanbul a "drop in the ocean". Shrunken and scarred by the violent vicissitudes of Greek-Turkish relations over the decades, that drop is now in danger of evaporating. Despite reforms for the protection of minorities intended to bring Turkey in line with European Union law, the leaders of Istanbul's Greek community are struggling for basic rights. That includes establishing the legal grounds to claim back around 400 pieces of prime Istanbul real estate gradually confiscated by the Turkish state since 1974. "The confiscated property was certainly worth billions of dollars. We are talking about entire apartment buildings and tracts of city land that produced significant revenues," says Vasslis Kalamaris, an attorney. Click here to read more.
Informational Resource Website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople http://www.patriarchate.org
HCS maintains a permanent, extensive archives of articles which readers are invited to browse. For more information about Smyrna or Asia Minor Greeks, see the webpages Smyrna and Asia Minor at the URL http://www.helleniccomserve.com/smyrnaopener.html or the webpage located at http://www.helleniccomserve.com/contents.html#Smyrna.

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